"As we move closer to the day when 32-bit-only systems will become obsolete, this latest enhancement of industry-standard technology continues AMD's commitment to overall system performance and tradition of delivering high-performance solutions that are compatible with a broad range of existing PCI-X devices," said Marty Seyer, vice president and general manager, AMD Microprocessor Business Unit. "We've designed this chipset to complement upcoming PCI Express(tm) solutions, and we continue to work with third-party chipset partners to help ensure their next-generation designs take full advantage of the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture."

The AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture offers the investment protection of 32-bit capability with the ability to migrate to 64-bit performance. All of the AMD-8000 series of chipsets incorporate HyperTransport technology, which increases overall system performance by removing I/O bottlenecks and reduces latency. These chipsets are designed to be flexible and modular, enabling OEMs and solution providers to design systems that best meet end-customer needs.

The number of products supporting the AMD Opteron processor continues to grow. Core-logic solutions that support AMD's Direct Connect Architecture are available from leading chipset partners including ATi, Broadcom, NVIDIA, SiS, ULi and VIA Technologies.

AMD plans to begin shipping the AMD-8132 HyperTransport PCI-X 2.0 tunnel for servers and workstations in the fourth quarter of this year.